


The Night Before

by TheLilyoftheValley



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Comfort, Discord: GabeNath Book Club and Art Club Server, F/M, Fluff, Gabriel being a bit of a tease, Late Night Present Opening, Nathalie being slightly emotionally vulnerable, Prompt Fill, Prompt: Twas the Night Before Christmas, Prompt: opening presents, Winter event, gabenath
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-02
Updated: 2021-01-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 15:42:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,742
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28512864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLilyoftheValley/pseuds/TheLilyoftheValley
Summary: GabeNath drabble. For the GabeNath Book and Art Club Server. Underneath the tree, presents are left for the Agrestes…
Relationships: Gabriel Agreste | Papillon | Hawk Moth/Nathalie Sancoeur
Comments: 6
Kudos: 29
Collections: GNBCAAC Winter 2020 Prompts





	The Night Before

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I do not own Miraculous or any of its characters. A short drabble to kinda pass the time and have Nathalie doing something fluffy.

The Night Before

It was a little after midnight and it felt like it too. The manor had been quiet for hours, so long that even the slightest step of her shoes sounded piercing to her ears. Windows showed the pitch-black sky outside of the house, inky darkness blanketing the world in silence and rest. Bits of snowflakes flecked the sides of the windowpanes and took the places where Nathalie would usually see stars.

Harsh clicks of heel to tile filled the main foyer of the manor.

A soft sigh left Nathalie as she stepped over to the massive pine tree to the right of the stairs. Ornaments dazzled her tired eyes, and although her body was begging her to finally head home for the evening, there was still one thing left on her agenda.

In her arms, three boxes lay stacked up on top of each other.

The biggest one was a thin rectangle. Nathalie had to keep her hands further apart than the length of her waist to hold it, but considering the large, burly man it was for, it made sense. Even with the thin cardboard of the clothes box, the enormous winter coat weighed down her arms.

Red wrapping paper covered the square box, green-colored Christmas trees dotting the ruby red. It took up a good portion of her chest, and the poor woman made sure to lean back just a little to balance the box from falling. The gaming headphones had been costly, and dropping them to the floor would be an insult to the extroverted teenager she was giving them to.

And at the very top of the two boxes sat a little box. Balanced just between the top of Adrien’s present and the tip of her chin, a thin, rectangular box sat slightly off-center the second box. Blue wrapping paper hide its contents from prying eyes, and little snowflakes like the ones falling from the sky graced the flimsy paper.

Adrien was already asleep for the night. His bodyguard had gone home hours prior.

Before she left, a few more presents needed to be added to the tree…

Careful of the clutter of pine needles near the edges of the tree skirt, Nathalie stepped close to the tree. Her knees bent, and she crouched down to place the boxes around the clutter of others. Fingers moved the present for Adrien to the side of the tree that had the most presents with his name on them, and she then shifted the other large present to the other end of the skirt, making sure it would be noticeable to the large man the moment he walked in through the door the day after.

When she was done, her head swiveled back to look at the top of Adrien’s gift, where the little blue-and-white box laid.

Warmth balled in her chest as she reached for it. She rose, a small smile pulling at her lips as light caught against the sheen of the paper.

It was… a risk. What with how jittery her feelings were, it would have been best to just wish Gabriel a merry Christmas and walk out the door.

But then again, it was the season of giving, even if that meant risking vulnerability.

Her right arm tucked under her left, the sides of the thick coat rubbing together. It was a good gift, one that seemed right to give Gabriel. Not too revealing of her emotions, and friendly enough that it wouldn’t be perceived as her just giving him a gift because she felt she needed to.

Nathalie wasn’t going to see him open the gift, what with the drive from her apartment to the manor, but part of her knew it was for the best. If she couldn’t see his reaction, then she wouldn’t give him any indication that-

“I thought you would have left already, my dear.”

Darn.

“I needed to leave my presents for you, Adrien, and his bodyguard before I left. I had brought them in this morning, but I knew that it would cause a disturbance, so I held off from doing that.” She turned around to look to the man at the other side of the staircase. “I will be leaving shortly, however.”

Gabriel dropped his eyes, looking to the box to her hand. “A present for Adrien?” he asked, nodding his head to her hands.

“Mm… no.” Nathalie watched as he uncrossed his arms and stepped closer to her, curiosity in his expression. “It’s your gift, actually.”

A rare smile, with the hint of a tease, appeared on the man. “Oh?”

“Yes.” Nathalie turned back around, making to put the present down. “Adrien’s is the bigger, more square-shaped box in that corner-“

He tilted his head, crossing his arms behind his back. Blue eyes lingered on the present in her hands. “Might I open my present now?”

A soft pause of silence hung over the space between them. Options rolled through her mind, each possibility running with several different outcomes, but after a moment, Nathalie sighed. “You know it isn’t quite Christmas morning yet, sir?”

His chuckle echoed behind her. “Well, it is after midnight, right in the first few hours of Christmas Day. Surely that would count as Christmas morning, no?”

Teeth chewed at the inside of her cheek. He was right, but was it worth the risk…

Without another word, and before the logical side of her brain talked her out of it, Nathalie handed him his present.

Gabriel’s fingers brushed hers as he scooped up the box. The smile stayed on his face as he nimbly ripped at the wrapping.

The urge to laugh rose from her chest and dotted color along her cheeks. Seeing Gabriel tear past the wrapping with child-like excitement with the barest hint of professionalism… He was trying hard to hide his excitement.

Once the paper was nothing but a crumbled ball in his left hand, the man ran his free hand over the top of the black box. “…I want to take a guess and say that you got me a necklace if the look of the box is anything to go by-“ his eyes flicked up to meet hers, and his smile shifted to one more mischievous “-though I doubt you would have gotten me such a gift. You’ve always worn necklaces better than I ever could.”

A breathy snort left her. “Thank you, sir, and no, I didn’t get you a necklace. Your wardrobe would have trouble incorporating a necklace into the aesthetic.” One side of her mouth lifted up higher than the other, and the slight color at her cheeks deepened. “I tried to pick out something that would go better with your dress shirts and vests…”

With that, Gabriel turned his gaze back down to the box and flicked it open.

Nathalie watched as he lifted the folded up tie out of its case. Purple butterflies, all with detailed wings and delicately designed bodies, decorated the space of the black fabric. Each shade of purple—the darker shades near the sharp point of the tie and the lighter shades around the necktie—rose up the length of the tie to make a kaleidoscope of insects.

And by the way Gabriel smiled, he knew exactly which outfit it had been planned to go with.

“You know, I haven’t thought about that outfit in a long while.” His thumb closed the box, and as Nathalie reached to take the ball of wrapping paper from his hand, he held the tie out to get a better view of it. “Yes… you ordered this specifically for that outfit, didn’t you?”

“I did, sir.” Mischief touched her own smile. “A few weeks ago, before the Christmas rush, I worked with one of the junior designers to create this for you. You mentioned in the past that you had trouble with choosing a neckpiece for the casual black-coordinated outfit you wore for a photoshoot years prior.”

“Let me guess… the design idea hit you one day?”

“Exactly,” she murmured, her hand tucking the wrapping away in her coat’s pocket. “Your Christmas present- a tie that fits your general aesthetic with an emphasis on leading the eye up to your face rather than lingering at your chest while keeping the dark black of the casual outfit.”

Chuckles left Gabriel as he lifted the tie close, his eyes already studying the type of stitch. “I was told that keeping my button-down unbuttoned at the top and showing off my collarbones was a better idea by many women…” He looked to her, evil in the blue. “Ms. Sancoeur, crushing all these women’s fantasies and allowing me to button up my shirt fully to not look sloppy… my, my, you are as heartless as they come.”

“What can I say, sir?” Her grin mirrored his. “I try to stay true to my family name.”

Soft laughter left both of them as they looked down to Gabriel’s new tie. A moment of happy quiet settled between them, both eyeing the article before looking back up to the other.

“Thank you, Nathalie,” Gabriel said, the words soft and gentle. He tucked the tie back into its box and flicked the box to run parallel to the inner side of his wrist. “I appreciate the gift, and I may test it out later this morning if I feel up to wearing the casual clothes again.” His free arm crossed behind his back. “Your gift will come later this afternoon. There are several adjustments that I still need to make to the design before I can finally give it to you.”

Nathalie held her arms close to her chest. “Am I wrong to assume that you’re gifting me a dress, sir.”

“Perhaps I should have kept quiet about that little detail…”

Nathalie shook her head as she stepped around him, heading for the front doors. “I know nothing, sir, so any dress gifted to me tomorrow will be a complete surprise.”

Gloved fingers reached for the door handle, and as the beat of silence passed, Nathalie prepared herself for the icy cold outside.

“Nathalie?”

She turned and looked back to Gabriel.

His grin softened, and a rare happiness shined in the blue of his eyes. “Thank you, again, and I wish you a merry Christmas, my dear.”

Heat warmed her chest, and Nathalie felt the growing heat radiate off her cheeks. “Merry Christmas to you as well, Gabriel…”

**Author's Note:**

> Song Inspo: “True Love” by Ariana Grande, again, because I love thinking about GabeNath while this song plays in the background.
> 
> Ahhh goodness, I’m not the happiest about the last few lines, but I was having such a rough struggle with them that I wanted to let it go. I have a couple other ideas for more oneshots for this event, and I would rather have one story with a weakish-feeling ending rather than a single perfect story with nothing else.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed, and thank you so much for reading and supporting!


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